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Michel de Nostredame (14
December 1503 or 21 December 1503– 2 July 1566), usually Latinized to
Nostradamus, was a French apothecary and reputed seer who published
collections of prophecies that have since become famous worldwide.
He is best known for his book
Les Propheties (The Prophecies), the first edition of which appeared
in 1555. Since the publication of this book, which has rarely been out
of print since his death, Nostradamus has attracted an enthusiastic
following who, along with the popular press, credits him with predicting
many major world events.
Most academic sources maintain
that the associations made between world events and Nostradamus's
quatrains are largely the result of misinterpretations or
mistranslations (sometimes deliberate) or else are so tenuous as to
render them useless as evidence of any genuine predictive power.
Moreover, none of the sources listed offers any evidence that anyone has
ever interpreted any of Nostradamus's quatrains specifically enough to
allow a clear identification of any event in advance.
Interest in the work of this
prominent figure of the French Renaissance is still considerable,
especially in the media and in popular culture, and the prophecies have
in some cases been assimilated to the results of applying the alleged
Bible Code, as well as to other purported prophetic works. |